Under 18, Over the top!

Our U18 team composed of Kobe Paras, Arvin Tolentino, Thirdy Ravena and Paolo Romero captured the FIBA-Asia 3X3 Championship!

This is a great testament to the program under Coach Flores who steered the boys through the quarterfinal win vs. Japan. 21-18 in the quarterfinals.

In the Semi-finals, team Philippines edged out China 22-18 in OT.

The. Philippines beat India 21-19 in the thrilling Finals.

Girls also did well as they reached the Quarterfinals but lost to Host Thailand 10-14.

Definitely the next generation of national sporting heroes are on the right path. We hope those in position will continue to pour their support for these young guns!

Mabuhay Ang Pilipinas!

22 out

Sad to hear the news of Bobby Parks Sr. passing away and succumbing to cancer just hours ago.

He was one of the finest PBA imports there ever was. His 7 best import plums, numerous championships, and being part of the Hall of Fame speaks volumes about his success as a player.

Let him be an example to foreign players that come here to play. Lately, a number of imports have been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

One went crazy on everyone on the court and choked his teammate, one got stupid drunk and ended unconscious on the ground in a parking lot, and another had fun with prostitutes who stole his money and in the midst of his anger allegedly caused damage to some property and allegedly assaulted a police officer.

Bobby Parks had been embraced by the Filipinos and is loved as one of our own not just because of his heroics on the court. He was humble, compassionate, and grateful for all the blessings.


Prayers go out to him & his family who will miss a great man,a wonderful father,a loving provider.

One of the tweets he sent out to his son as he got the UAAP MVP award: "sky's the limit". And yes, when you're that good and you have the right attitude, sky is the limit.

His twitter name says so much about him. @begud22.

Let's honor his memory, and BE GOOD.

RIP.

The deal with Cornley

Saw a tweet early morning from GMA news on a PBA import hitting someone and getting arrested.

That was around 8am.

I retweeted, then Gabe Norwood texted me right away.... Absolutely concerned saying he is trying to contact him but to no avail.

Switched the tv on to see if there were reports and luckily, I tuned into DZMM teleradyo where the reporter was summarizing what he gathered from the QCPD station 10.

Jamelle Cornley apparently caused a scene at the hotel in Timog he was staying at (Sir Williams's hotel), complaining about 3 women who he says stole his money amounting to P60,000.

The reporter said that Cornley hit a police officer, SPO2 Lazattin who was brought to the hospital.

They went back to the studio anchor at that time who was already building on how the import should not use his imposing presence and brute force...

Then the reporter went back live on air from the police station with an interview on Cornley..

Here are the tweets I posted as I followed the news flash live:

@patriciahizon: "Some people just gotta do what they gotta do. I'm disappointed in the lack of effort" - Cornley on his interview on DZMM

@patriciahizon: "I did not punch anybody. They can file whatever they want... I did not hit or push with force him enough to hurt him" - Cornley

@patriciahizon: "I will take necessary steps to find out where my money is...." - Cornley

@patriciahizon: I'm not filing Any case I just want my money... The police can say whatever they want." - Cornley


@patriciahizon: "I have never been arrested before. I never had a case in the UnitedStates. I've never done anything to hurt anyone."-Cornley on PO2 Lazatin

@patriciahizon: Lots of police surrounding Cornley as he discusses with the chief of police. There's tension in the station and police are holding him down!


@patriciahizon: Oh my gosh!!!! Lots of police are jumping Cornley to overpower him and put him behind bars!!! This is so intense!!!!

@patriciahizon: Chief of police pedroso was the one who said that officer Lazatin whom Cornley allegedly punched is in critical condition.

@patriciahizon: The police also claims there was damage to property. Cornley also made comments vs. police / system in the Philippines

@patriciahizon: Ybanez and @GNorwood5 already at the station to help out. Good job Gabe! That's #teamwork.


@patriciahizon: I hope the Cornley situation will be resolved, no one else gets hurt, and that his safety will also be secured.

By 10am, I was able to call the hospital and speak to the attending physician...


@patriciahizon: The officer Cornley allegedly hit is discharged fr d hospital w/ a small contusion on left eye (black eye). No broken bones.


I just hope that The situation will be managed, Cornley will get his money back and no charges on either party will be made.

Peace.

Golfer!!!!

For about 5 years now, I've been TRYING to LEARN to play golf. I've had my moments of brilliance on the course but have had plenty more bouts of frustration with even a club throwing incident in one instance . Yes. It got that ugly.

Some days I feel great about my game that I would even tweet about it! Had that swag on the fairway goin'. Many other days I'd rather bury my face in shame from walking from one side of the green to the other and missing 3 foot putts.

My goal is to get good at this game! More than playing more and going to the range, to get better, I decided to join a GANG!

Yes, a gang!

Will be introducing you to my GANG on march 15!

Watch out for it!

Congratulations SBP

MANILA, Philippines (SBP): Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas, the National Federation of basketball in the Philippines has been jointly awarded the Top National Sports Association by the Philippine Sportswriters Association for the year 2012. SBP shared the prestigious recognition with National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP).
“The (NSA of the Year) award is not just about the success or accomplishments of a sports body, but also reflects on the programs that contribute to its growth and success, which the Board believes have been embodied by both the SBP and NGAP,” said PSA president Rey Bancod of Tempo.
FIBA Asia President Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al-Thani congratulated the SBP terming the award as a recognition for basketball in general.
“The passion for basketball in Philippines is common knowledge. And this award comes as a recognition for the National Federation for its effort in consolidating and promoting the popularity of basketball. My heartiest congratulations to SBP,” he added.
FIBA Asia Secretary General Hagop Khajirian said in his congratulatory message: “As a basketball fan I am quite excited to note that a basketball organization has been accorded such a national honor.
“I join my fellow members of the FIBA Asia family in applauding this achievement of the SBP.”
Philippines will later this year host the prestigious 27th FIBA Asia Championship involving the top 16 teams from FIBA Asia fighting for supremacy in Asia’s most important basketball event.
FIBA Asia

BATTLE OF BATAAN

So many die-hards still argue to this day about whether their retro team would fare better than other throw back platoons... Well, for Purefoods and Ginebra fans, this Battle of Bataan may shed some light on the argument....

The Purefoods Legends had Patrimonio, Realubit, Asaytono, Capacio, Santos, sta. maria, and Evangelista.

The Ginebra Greats had David, Locsin, Hizon, Aquino, Feihl, Jose, Cabatu, and Palad on their roster.

The teams seemed evenly matched. Hats off to the organizers for picking up the right guys.

We can just skip the first 2 quarters because that just had too many comedic highlights and missed shots. It was entertaining. Ginebra had the slim lead.

Halftime saw the fans rushing their favorite legends on the court, not even the armed police detail could stop them. How could they? They were busy taking photos too!

Purefoods leaned on the outside shooting of Santos and Capacio who boosted the 12 point advantage they had. Then David, Hizon, and Palad hit crucial shots that trimmed the deficit to just 2 going into the pay off period.

That's when Cap Alvin made his presence felt, Locsin dunked twice, Realubit pulled down big rebounds, Feihl stood his ground, and David made big outside baskets.

The audience was treated to a 90s type of dog fight!!!

Even I was at the edge of my seat specially when Ginebra's 6pt lead was cut to 3 by Cap then they forced Ginebra to a turn over.

Capacio hit a 3 and it was tied but Ginebra turned it over again as the ball went out of bounds with 3.7 seconds left. Purefoods wanted to design a play.

Whatever they designed, Ginebra rattled it, stole the ball and had all 5 in white spiriting down. Fans were on their feet, screaming, just like the stadium announcer who sounded like he was having a fit!

Hizon drove baseline was denied (fouled!) and Feihl's put back rattled out...

The thriller ended 107 all. And since its an exhibition, they didn't go into extra time.

What will go in OT is the argument on whether throwback Ginebra is better than classic Purefoods.

That certainly deserves an encore.

Bravo legends!

ABAP stages an International boxing tourney

Subic will be host city for the much awaited the ASBC Asian Youth Confederation boxing tournament starting March 11, organized by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines.

This grand international tournament will have 25 nations sending their most promising boxers that will be the greats of the next generation. One event that boxing enthusiasts should not miss.

Under the leadership of the indefatigable Ricky Vargas, ABAP is rolling out the red carpet for the international boxing community who will not only see exciting bouts, but will also witness the best of Filipino hospitality and our colorful culture, especially during the opening ceremonies and the delegation dinner.

Executive Director Ed Picson is seeing over all the details of the preparations along with a host of sponsors including main presenter PLDT, Smart, and Maynilad to name a few.

Maynilad Senior Vice President and one of the main movers of ABAP Patrick Gregorio continues to emphasize on the importance and significance of the tournament.

ABAP certainly is under very capable hands and is supported by wonderful networks of corporate sponsors. This will certainly be a successful event.

Now, as for the performance of the young Pinoy pugilists, that's another article....


Mabuhay ABAP!

THE NBA IS COMING

For the first time, the NBA will hold it's Pre-season game in the Philippines this October 10, at the Mall of Asia Arena with the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers!

This BIG announcement of course is welcome news for the biggest NBA fan base outside the US in terms of social media and online followers.

WHAT AN AMAZING HONOR FOR THIS BASKETBALL CRAZY COUNTRY!

The Filipino passion for the game is getting a lot of love from the international basketball community - with the FIBA ASIA this August then the NBA two months later.

Scott Levy of NBA Asia said the teams, apart from the players, are coming with the cheerleaders, the mascots, the works! They'll do what they do when they're in their own arena! "THE NBA IS COMING"!

THANK YOU NBA, NBA ASIA, MOA ARENA!

Vaseline Men Xterra Results

The Men's elite Off road triathlon championship had Ben Allen of Australia winning the grueling race with 2h 37m 40s as Dan Hugo finished in 2nd place with 2h 38m 31s.
Sam Gardner came in at 3rd.

With 3h5m51s clocking, Joseph Miller was the 1st Pinoy elite to finish.

Leslie Patterson is the Women's champ with 2:45:41.

More on my YAHOO SPORTS article

Cebu-bound for Xterra!

All roads... Errr... FLIGHTS lead to Cebu... At least for the next couple of days as the Queen City of the South, particularly the charming resort town of Lilo-an is preparing for the arrival of local and foreign triathlon aficionados who are up for one extremely exciting Vaseline Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Championships weekend!

I'm one of them... who will be standing on the sidelines, admiring the participants traversing the rough but picturesque terrain.

Some of the best in the world are Cebu-bound or have already arrived (saw 4 or 5 of them on my flight earlier) to go toe to toe with the likes of Australia's Ben Allen, France's Olivier Marceau and team GB's Sam Gardner and a slew of other world champs who are looking forward to conquer this Saturday's challenge.


More on this weekend's activities here..... Keep it locked!